Port Adelaide revelation Sam Powell-Pepper proving a marketing sensation
PORT Adelaide rookie sensation Sam Pepper-Powell has ‘brought back a little bit of mongrel’, and the Power fans are lapping it up.
Port Adelaide
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HIS trademark fend-off was inspired by Richmond star Dustin Martin and now Sam Powell-Pepper is attracting his own fan club.
The recruiting steal who is a strong contender to become Port Adelaide's third AFL Rising Star winner has become such a cult figure in his first year at Alberton that his No. 2 guernseys and player badges are racing out the door of the club’s merchandise shop in record numbers.
Raging bull Powell-Pepper — a draft bargain at pick 18 last year from East Perth — has become so instantly popular among Power fans that no other player comes close to him in terms of merchandise sales.
He has overtaken star forward-midfielder Chad Wingard as the fan favourite at Port, with 30 per cent of the club’s guernsey and player badge sales dedicated to him.
“I haven’t seen anything like it at Port,’’ head of retail and licensing Ben Hurst said.
“We sold out of Powell-Pepper badges within a week of them going on sale at the start of the season and he’s been so popular that we’ve already had several reorders with him and no reorders for any other player.
“And most of the kids who come in to the shop to buy a guernsey and have a number put on the back opt for Sam’s number two.
“Until this year Wingard was what we call our ‘rock star’ but Powell-Pepper has already gone well past him.’’
Powell-Pepper, 19, who will return home to WA to play against West Coast at Subiaco Oval on Sunday, has made a stunning impact in his first year in the AFL.
The bruising midfielder has played all 14 games for Port, averaging 18 disposals including nine contested, and has been a brute force on the field and a marketer’s dream off it.
“People just love the way that he plays and the fact that he's a bit of an old-school Port Adelaide Magpies-type player — the way he’s so hard at it, is aggressive and fends off tackles with that ‘don’t argue’ style while still being a humble bloke,’’ Hurst said.
“He’s brought back a little bit of mongrel and the fans love it.’’
While pocket-rocket goalsneak Eddie Betts has dominated sales of guernseys, badges, key rings and T-shirts at the Adelaide Crows for the past two years, Hurst said Powell-Pepper skyrocketed to the top of the Power’s popularity charts after his dominant pre-season game against Hawthorn at Noarlunga.
His standout display was highlighted by a brilliant goal after a strong fend-off from a tackle from four-times premiership player Shaun Burgoyne.
Captain Travis Boak described Powell-Pepper as “a pretty special kid’’ the moment he saw him rough up hardened teammates at his first Power training session.
“Right from day one he impressed me because he wasn’t shy about throwing his weight around,” Boak said.
“His first session he don’t-argued Ollie (Wines) and put him on his bum, and probably two weeks later he did the same thing to Hamish Hartlett and we said, ‘this kid is going to be something special’.’’
Powell-Pepper — physically imposing at 187cm and 91kg — had a tough upbringing which he says might have attributed to his resilience and bull-at-a-gate approach to the game.
“I pride myself on the tough, competitive side of the game,’’ he said.
“I try not to leave anything out there so it’s all about the contest for me. Ever since I played junior footy I’ve always put my head over the ball and looked for the big bump or tackle, something inspirational, to help get the team up and about.’’
Born to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mother and an English father, Powell-Pepper lived with his dad in Perth in his early years before moving in with his grandmother at age nine.
A few years later he met the family (the De Lores) through football that changed his life.
Greg and Karen De Lore — the parents of a teammate at Mt Hawthorn Cardinals junior football club — took him in at age 14 and treated him like one of the family
“They helped shape me into the person I am today,’’ said Powell-Pepper, who last week signed a two-year contract extension tying him to Port until the end of 2020.
Powell-Pepper grew up idolising tough midfielders Martin and Port’s Ollie Wines, despite his now Power teammate being just three years older.
He says he learnt the Martin-style fend-off which has become a key part of his game by going head-to-head at training with his cousin Quinton Narkle, who was drafted by Geelong at pick 60 last year.
“Me and Quinton used to have competitions against each other as to who could do the best fend-off,’’ Powell-Pepper told The Advertiser.
“We played in the same team at (Perth’s) Wesley College, along with (Richmond’s) Shai Bolton, and we used to go pretty hard at each other with the fend-offs.
“That’s where I learnt how to do them but he was actually better at them than me.’’
Powell-Pepper, who played against Martin for the first time at Adelaide Oval last week where the pair had some fiery moments, has been affectionately dubbed a “Bash Brother’’ alongside fellow hard nut Wines.
“It’s amazing because I idolised him and to now be playing with him and called a bash brother is a bit surreal,’’ he said.
andrew.capel@news.com.au
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